Rodent Diet Yet Again

After some adjustments, I've redone the mix again, eliminating some ingredients and adding new ones. They all seem to like this. Half the hamsters eat the blocks, the others don't. Mimzi the gerbil won't eat the blocks either, but he will eat the dog food.

	Pounds Used	Cups Used
Regular Rolled Oats (Oatmeal)	50	225
Barley Flakes	100	450
Pearl Barley	25	57
Whole Groats	25	63
Pomegranate Blueberry Total Cereal	6	71
Toasted Oats (Cheerios)	6	198
pumpkin seeds	5	6
Flaxseed	6	24
Air Dried Carrots	5	13
Freeze Dried Parsley	5	120
Raisins	6	17
Dried Bananas	3	15
Shredded Coconut	3	22
cloudstar dog food	20	40
Harlan 2014	99	Info Pending

References:

Dream Mountain Rattery http://www.dreammtnfarm.com/rattery/about.htm
RatFanClub http://www.ratfanclub.org/nutreq.html
Shunamite Diet: http://www.fancy-rats.co.uk/information/guides.php?subject=shunamite

Local Food Sources:

I live in the Hillsboro, Oregon area.

Rolled barley (Barley Flakes)- I go to Aloha Garden and Feed. Out of all of the feed stores in my area, they sell the equivalent of barley flakes you get in the grocery store in 50# feed bags. If you are purchasing smaller amounts, you can purchase it at Whole Foods, Fred Meyer or Bob's Red Mill.  (Looks similar to oatmeal.)

Rolled oats (Oat Flakes) - I found that the local feed stores sell crimped rolled oats and I don't like it because the rats have to peel the husk off to eat it. My rats drop the husks back in their dish and it looks like they have food when they don't. It's also something they don't eat that you are paying for. I buy the 25 pound bags from the Winco bulk section. You can also find it in bulk at most major grocery stores in the area. Winco has the cheapest price in the bulk section. (Looks similar to oatmeal.)

Pomegranate Blueberry Total - I feed this over the regular total because they eat it. I have some rats that refuse to eat the plain cereal. This is for vitamin fortification.

Cheerios/Toasted Oats - A toasted oats cereal. They seem to really like this.

Pearl Barley - I order this from Winco in 25 pound bags. You can find this in most bulk food sections in the area. Winco has the best price.

Whole Groats - I order this from Winco in 25 pound bags. You can find this in most bulk food sections in the area. Winco has the best price.

Pumpkin seeds - I purchase bags from Hillsboro Feed store. Many feed stores carry this. You can buy it in smaller amounts in bulk food sections and for most, that is fine. For large populations of animals, that isn't practical.

Flaxseed - The best price is at Winco. They beat feed stores too.

Air Dried Carrots - unless you do it yourself, you will probably have to order online. I have found several places, but since I buy so much, I get it online at North Bay Trading Company. http://www.northbaytrading.com/air-dried-carrots/

Freeze Dried Parsley - Sold in bulk at Winco.  (And other stores in the area.)

Raisins - Sold in bulk at Winco (and other stores in the area.)

Dried Bananas - I was using freeze dried but it can't be mixed in their food because it soaks up the moisture in other foods and becomes soft.  So I finally broke down and used the dried  bananas in the bulk bins.  These usually have oil in them as well so be sure to limit the intake.

Shredded Coconut -    I purchase  from the bulk food bins at Winco.


Cloudstar Dog Food - I purchase from www.cloudstar.com.

Harlan Teklad 2014 - I purchase with the club but it can also be purchased from www.thecraftyrat.com or www.theratshop.com  Or you can purchase the commercial diet, higher protein (18%) Native Earth 4018 which is the same diet as Harlan Teklad 2018.